Anas Imtiaz

Shahid Masood does it – AGAIN!

// August 31st, 2009 // 5 Comments » // Pakistan

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Pervez Musharraf MUST Be Tried

// August 18th, 2008 // 12 Comments » // Pakistan

Now that the man being alleged for all the wrongdoings in the world has finally yielded in, it is imperative upon the supreme institutions of the country to demand his accountability. The government, in no way, must provide indemnity to the man they were about to impeach on charges of gross misconduct. It is heartening to see that the former president is staying in Pakistan (for now) unlike some of the others who opted to live in royal luxury of oil-rich lands.

Should Musharraf be tried? Yes! Doodh ka doodh aur pani ka pani hona chahiye. Let all the people know what the charges against him were, and if at all they were true or not. Musharraf has said that “no charge-sheet can stand against me.” So let this be decided in a court of law. The man allegedly responsible for the killing of a myriad people shouldn’t be let off the hook, if at all he is responsible!

All his policies, that are allegedly wrong, including the operation in tribal areas must be immediately checked. A politician (who has had a hair transplant) said on a number of occasions that he will release Dr. A.Q.Khan and make him the president. But after winning, he is almost tight-lipped about the issue. In fact, Pervez Musharraf was also being held responsible for the detainment and disgrace of AQ Khan (even by the media). Since he has deserted the Presidency now why is the scientist still in house arrest? Let the truth come out there as well.

The achievements of his past nine year tenure that Musharraf proudly mentioned should be looked at and the nation be told whether that is true or false.

All the educational policies, the phD programs, higher education claims must be assessed and nation be told whether or not this was  revolutionary (which I believe it was).

If he really was a villain as being portrayed by some paid media, then the struggle shouldn’t end here abruptly.

Those who claim to have fought so hard and long for the rule of law and independence of judiciary shouldn’t look to avoid a trial for Musharraf. It’s time for a fair trial, otherwise the intention of the coalition will always reek personal goals, preferences and agendas.

Will Musharraf be tried? I leave it for an open debate.

Musharraf’s Options

// August 13th, 2008 // 9 Comments » // Politics

The Presidential camp is busy preparing strategies to counter the Zardari-Nawaz onslaught on Pervez Musharraf. I’m sure the legal brains like Shareef Pirzada, Abdulhafeez Pirzada, Malik Qayyum and maybe some more are working on how to kill the impeachment motion with the help of the Constitution itself while other aides, and Musharraf himself, will be closely looking at the pros and cons of different legal and political strategies. Here are some of the options that I could come up with, I’m sure they’ve many more on their list of possibilities.

1) Resign and accept defeat. There can be no such thing as resignation in the “wide interest of the nation.”

2) Use the court the disqualify Shahbaz Sharif as CM.

3) Get hold of about 10 PPP members in Sindh and turn the tide against the provincial government.

4) Rescind the NRO.

5) Use the powers of 58-2(b).

6) Fight the impeachment motion taking advantage of the fact that most of the charges that have appeared so far are not sufficient to impeach him. This may also include using the Supreme Court to his advantage and the fact that Oct. 12 and Nov. 3 actions were done by the COAS and not the President (interesting!!). Also the fact that most of the allegations in the charge sheet so far relate to the previous presidential tenure. It may be interesting to find out whether those stand valid or not (legal position??).

7) Buy votes and win the impeachment motion.

Big Mouths!

// August 12th, 2008 // 3 Comments » // Politics

Even an unborned child in Pakistan knows the fame attached with the name of Asif Ali Zardari. He has been certified by most eminent historians and analysts as one of the most important factors for the fall of his wife’s government. Most of the corruption charges during the two tenures involved Zardari. Not only Asif, but his father, Hakim Ali Zardari has been famously notorious for a long time and had been convicted on numerous occasions. The title of Mr. 10% and more-than-rumors of his involvement in the murder of Mir Murtaza Bhutto and now even in that of Benazir Bhutto are well known across the country. Describing Asif Ali Zardari in one word is a tough ask. Is Zardari a politician or a criminal? The latter is by far the more popularly accurate description. The tags of drug trafficking, BMW cars, murder, Switzerland accounts and money laundering are all different aspects of this character.

The question is whether the words of such a person is credible enough? Should the nation believe in what is said by the man who has been washed off his sins by a controversial ordinance (which BTW, was issued legitimised BECAUSE of the Nov. 3 emergency)? Are we really ready to have Zardari as the next president???

Can we forgive Zardari just because he can say (without proof) that Musharraf has misused the US aid?

On the other hand, the calls for a trial and jailing of Musharraf by Nawaz Sharif also deems an explication in detail. How can a person who couldn’t stand to live in the jail for a few days, after being convicted by the court in the airplane conspiracy case, say that someone else should be jailed? Nawaz used all his influence to get out of Pakistan and live in a royal exile and this is historical fact now verified by all parties involved in the agreement. Why doesn’t the same logic of exile apply to any other Pakistani (including Musharraf)? Does the years of exile in Saudi Arabia exonerate Sharif of his heinous political sins and acts?

I would like to see Musharraf going to trial and the case dealt with impartially but never at the call and wish of corrupt morons like Zardari and Sharif.

Is PPP Buying Musharraf’s Ouster From USA?

// August 6th, 2008 // 3 Comments » // Politics

What seemed as a completely futile and unnecessary visit to Washington by the PM Gilani may just have been an attempt to persuade the US authorities that the PPP is willing to extend the same support (and more) to the US in case they agree on Musharraf’s removal from the top slot. A news appeared in Daily Jang last month that Zardari asked Nawaz to accompany him to US with the PM in a bid to talk to the US authorities on these lines. Sharif wasn’t interested in such a visit and Zardari also took a wise decision by holding back. What else could have been discussed on such a failed visit??

Theoretically, the US doesn’t want Musharraf or anyone in particular. They will be glad as long as those in power are fulfilling their job. So to get the nod from Washington the PPP needs to prove that they are as worthy partners as was/is Musharraf.

Putting together other pieces of this puzzle, the notification to put ISI under Interior Ministry could just have been an indication to the US of the extent the People’s Party is ready to go with their support for US. The heavy warfare in Swat just adds to their portfolio.

Assuming all above is true, then the timing of the meeting that took place yesterday also means that they were indeed waiting for a message from Washington before taking a clear stance on the President. All this means that the PPP is willing to do anything to prove their worth to the US and in return get a nod for Musharraf’s ouster. Whether or not they’ve bagged the trade deal is yet to be seen.

Karzai’s Audacity & Lack of Leadership

// July 15th, 2008 // 5 Comments » // Pakistan

Hamid Karzai is probably the only President of a country whose powers do not extend beyond the borders of his capital, Kabul. Yet, he is brave enough to threaten his nuclear-armed neighbor with an attack. Not once or twice, but he has repeatedly blamed Pakistan over the past years for terrorism in his own country. His recent remarks have been more than those trite blames we’re so used to. He has threatened to attack Pakistan! And what was our response? Nothing noteworthy that I can recall.

There are two questions that require immediate attention:

• Where does Karzai extract this latest wave of extreme courage from?
• Why is Pakistan unable to hit back at Karzai?

Unfortunately, the answer to both these questions is the lack of leadership in Pakistan. Let me quote some examples from the recent past when we had a strong leader in the form of Pervez Musharraf. When Karzai blamed Pakistan earlier, Musharraf had the courage to hit back at him. Here are few of the glimpses from the recent past:

Musharraf lashes out at Karzai on terror issue (Source)

Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf lashed out at Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai in an interview with Canada AM, accusing him of misleading the public on the war on terror.

“I think he is purposely, purposely not speaking the truth. That is what I think,” Musharraf told host Beverly Thomson in an interview in New York on Tuesday.

“He knows the truth. He’s finding it more convenient for himself to hide the truth and cast all expression on Pakistan.”

Musharraf accused Karzai of casting blame on Pakistan to distract from the ethnic imbalance in the Afghan government.

Musharraf says Karzai ‘oblivious’ (Source)

Gen Musharraf told CNN that information about the Taleban that Mr Karzai handed him last month was “old and outdated.”

Gen Musharraf said he was “surprised and shocked” by reports suggesting that Mr Karzai had given intelligence information about the whereabouts and location of Mullah Mohammed Omar in Pakistan.

Gen Musharraf said the Afghan intelligence about the fugitive Afghan leader’s location was “nonsense.

Musharraf, Karzai exchanged Hot Words? (Source)

…..This enraged Gen. Musharraf and he compared Mr. Karzai to an ostrich adding that he had nothing else to do but to level charges.

“His Government has failed completely and he [Karzai] is unaware of the facts.” Gen. Musharraf is learnt to have also said Pakistan had always favoured peace in Afghanistan because “the state of anarchy there was exercising bad effects on Pakistan.”

He added that Mr. Karzai lacked both in the power of decision and courage, added the paper.

There is a lot more that happened including Musharraf skipping the meeting with Karzai and their meeting in USA without handshakes.

A strong leader at the top, in Musharraf, was given due respect by Afghanistan as well as India. Currently, we have a dumb and dummy PM, and the de-facto PM Zardari who’s hiding away from all problems. With PPP’s dual-standards on Musharraf, and PML-N’s opposition, Musharraf is not in as strong position as he was or as he should be in order to fire back. Someone has to take up the charge, it is supposed to be PM in a parliamentary system. Someone needs to step up, with the backing of majority to ward off such threats.

No doubt, Musharraf’s leadership qualities are far superior than the so-called awami leaders, who are oblivious to the country’s issue and enjoying their summer break at the government’s expense.

Masterful Zardari Leaves Nawaz Stunned

// June 16th, 2008 // No Comments » // Politics

Addressing the issue of the total number of SC judges in the Finance Bill is not an accident. Nor is it the result of the pressure created by the lawyers. It is an extremely clever gambit by Zardari from his bag of infinite surprises. If we come out from the domain of Musharraf vs. Anti-Musharraf forces and look at the the parties at independent political entities, the PPP is slowly but surely gaining control over the government. The control, which it rightly deserves, has been overshadowed by the theatrical performance of his coalition partner, Nawaz Sharif.

Going a few days back (just one day before the budget), the news was broken in the night that the government has decided to increase the number of judges in the finance bill. Then the following happened:

• Aitezaz claimed it as a success, that his movement has been able to pressurize the government, and increasing the number of judges will reinstate Iftikhar Chaudhry.
• Khwaja Asif of PML-N, stated on GEO twice (once alone, and then alongwith Sherry Rehman in a talk show) that this action of government has the backing of PML-N and that his party was consulted and they gave their consent.
• Ishaq Dar came out of the NA praising the budget (he said “hamara budget” implying he had a role to play as well, and why not!)

So far so good. But yesterday the Sharif brothers came out saying that they were NOT consulted (contradicting Khwaja Asif). He said he’s unaware of any consultations. He also says that he will not allow this finance bill to be passed in the house (Ishaq Dar’s work going to waste?). He has been clear in his stance earlier as well that he will not accept the post-emergency judges, so this isn’t a surprise (Khawaja Asif did surprise me though).

Now why is this such a great move to include this issue in finance bill? Because the finance bill needs to approved by the National Assembly and NOT the Senate (this is the only such bill, that I am aware of). With this move Zardari has negated the need for Sharif to support him to increase the number of judges. Now, Nawaz Sharif will be put to test whether to support the finance bill or not. And if he doesn’t, many others are waiting to do so. In effect, Zardari has done what he wanted silently without even asking Sharif for his support!

The Wannabe Heroes: Ex-Servicemen

// June 14th, 2008 // No Comments » // Pakistan

THE retired servicemen seem to have rebelled against President Musharraf calling for his impeachment and trial for planning the Kargil operation. In a press conference held on June 4, a group of retired servicemen demanded Gen Musharraf’s trial, restoration of judiciary, revision of the Kashmir policy and the revoking of the controversial NRO.

An important point raised during the meeting was to investigate the Kargil crisis which cost Pakistan a lot of money, precious lives and reputation.

While an audit of military operations by the government is certainly needed, the important question which must be asked is that is this press conference just a ‘rebellion’ of ‘civilianised’ army men against the former army chief in defence of democracy and higher political values in the country?

(more…)

Gulzar Kiyani’s Revelations Are Futile

// June 3rd, 2008 // 15 Comments » // Pakistan

Lt. Gen (r) Jamshed Gulzar Kiyani, in an interview, explained in excruciating details the dark past of General (r) Pervez Musharraf. Some politicians (at least one, for sure) and the media is giving this a wide coverage. Others are congratulating the retired army man for spilling out his guts on free and fair media. Sure, but why did he do this after serving as the Corps Commander of the all-sensitive Rawalpindi Corps shortly after the 1999 coup and then later serving as the Chairman of Federal Public Service Commission, from which he was recently removed. In fact, in the interview he claimed he “doesn’t know why Musharraf made him the Chairman of FPSC.” So why did he take up the job? Probably he doesn’t know.

The allegations or comments lack credibility and are worthless now because they have come at a time when a similar campaign is being run by Nawaz Sharif and these comments at this time merely add to that. Perhaps, the so-called revelations would’ve held worth had the retired lieutenant general spoken earlier while serving in the army and following the commands of his boss. Serving his complete tenure, and not doing anything at that time makes him equally liable and responsible (maybe more) for the turbulent times now for which he blames Musharraf.

Should I March for Iftikhar Chaudhry?

// May 30th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // Pakistan

• Did he take a suo motu action to free Dr. A.Q. Khan?
• Did he take a suo motu notice to get the government look into the plight of Jinnah family; the family of Shireen Jinnah living in abject poverty?
• Didn’t he ratify the emergency rule, as part of a member of the SC bench in 1999?
• Didn’t he take an oath under PCO?
• Did he not legitimize the referendum of Musharraf of 2002?

Instead, what he did, was drag the traffic police head to court and ask the reason for traffic jam. Well, London has busy roads too with an exemplary judicial system. Never found any such incident there.

I’m sure some can say that his heart and mind changed later. Why later, after getting all the privileges? And it can surely change again!

The answer to the topic of this post is a whopping NO!